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Sonny L. Thomas v. Bernadette Mason, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy, et al.

IFP petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 24-2739 · judgment March 10, 2025


Certiorari denied · January 26, 2026

Questions presented

QUESTIONS

  1. Did the Third Circuit Court of Appeals err when it denied petitions Certificate of Appealability, holding "jurist of reason would not debate the District Courts decision to deny his Fed.R.Civ.P.60(b) motion"., and "Appellants allegations of Actual Innocence were insufficient to overcome AEDPA limitation period."

  2. Does this Courts reasoning in Schlup v. Delo. 513 U.S. 298, 130 L.Ed 2d 808, 115 S.CT 851, and its progeny, Reeves v. Fayette SCI, 897 F.3d 154; 2018 U.S. App LEXIS 20364 No. 17-1043 (3rd Cir July 23, 2018) prohibit 'Late proffered testimonial evidence' that was available at trial, but, was wrongly excluded because of the ineffective assistance of trial counsel, as new evidence, for purposes of the Schlup, Reeves actual innocence gateway under limited circumstances.

  3. Did the District Court err by applying a higher standard then that of Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, and of Reeves v. Fayette SCI, 897 F.3d 154, when the court made it's determined as to whether the evidence presented by Thomas was 'new reliable evidence'.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Sonny L. Thomas

For respondent

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Jan 26 2026
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jan 08 2026
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/23/2026.
  3. May 14 2025
    Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due December 24, 2025)